Cummings hits 200 career points, leads Toms River East past Manalapan for key division win

TOMS RIVER — Lacking the winning tradition that many of its opponents possess, Toms River East is used to being overlooked as a championship contender.

That sentiment is beginning to change.

The Raiders continued to stack wins on Wednesday night at Dvorak Field where they exacted a measure of revenge with a dominant 16-5 Shore Conference Colonial Division victory over defending division champion Manalapan. Senior midfielder Nate Cummings posted five goals and three assists to become the first player in program history to reach 200 career points, while junior attackman Nick Caruso fired in a career-high seven goals and assisted on another.

Toms River East has now won five games in a row with its only defeat coming to Southern Regional in their season opener. They occupy sole possession of first place in the Colonial Division and own key victories over Howell and Manalapan.

“They beat us twice last year so we knew we had to come back with a big punch,” Caruso said. “We really brought it to them from the first whistle.”

“We are putting a big emphasis on coming out fast and putting the game away early,” Cummings said.

Manalapan struck first on a goal by senior midfielder Jake Schatz in the opening minute, but it was all Toms River East from there. Caruso tied the game at 9:40 and Cummings hit the 200-point milestone on a goal at 8:10 of the first quarter. Cummings added two more goals in the opening 12 minutes and Caruso found the back of the net once more to give the Raiders a commanding 5-1 lead after the first quarter.

Cummings had been sitting on 199 points since Toms River East’s last game on April 9.

“I was a little nervy because I just wanted to get it over with,” Cummings said. “It feels good to reach that milestone and know I have bigger things ahead.”

“No one deserves it more than him,” Toms River East head coach Joe Shore said. “He’s been a pillar of our program and he’s the most unselfish player and person. He holds everyone accountable and he’s hardest on himself.”

Manalapan made it a 5-3 game on goals by Schatz and senior midfielder Matt Avivi in the opening four minutes of the second quarter, but once again Toms River East responded with authority. The Raiders scored the next eight goals during the second and third quarters to break the game open and take a 13-4 lead into the fourth quarter. Sophomore attackman Gerard Uzzolino (2 goals, 5 assists) scored off a setup from Cummings before senior midfielder Ethan Kelly scored at 4:21 for a 7-3 advantage. Cummings and Caruso added goals in the final three minutes of the half for a 9-3 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, Caruso scored off an assist from Uzzolino at X, Kelly struck for his second goal of the game, and Cummings sank his fifth goal. Caruso’s fifth goal of the game off another setup from Uzzolino with 2:21 left in the third quarter opened a 13-3 Toms River East lead.

Caruso scored twice and Uzzolino added another in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

Sophomore goalie Ryan Caruso wasn’t faced with the pressure of a close game, but still came though with multiple saves on high-danger chances and finished with 10 stops.

“We’re really confident in him and know he can bail us out,” Nick Caruso said. “We give him an outside shot and he’s going to eat it up.”

“We have a great defense at our back and it takes the pressure of us a bit, but we don’t want to get lackadaisical and let off the gas,” Cummings said.

The Raiders remained relentless from start to finish on Wednesday, and that is by design. Despite entering the season with most of their core intact from a 13-win 2024 season, they approached this season with the mentality of being decided underdogs.

“The expectations for ourselves are there but from everyone else we feel like we’re overlooked,” Shore said. “Nobody expects great lacrosse down here. We take that personally. We come into every game as underdogs and we love the hate.”

“We’re playing a lot of very established programs and teams from Monmouth County. We have teams in our division who have done it and we haven’t, so they look at us as Toms River and there’s no expectations. We’re blue collar, hard hat, and we approach every day with that mentality.”

Thanks to Howell’s win over Middletown South on Tuesday, Toms River East is in first place in the Colonial Division and the only team without a division loss. The Raiders have never won a division title, and while they still have important games against Middletown South, Middletown North, and Point Boro left to close it out, they are on a trajectory to deliver the best season in program history.

“It’s always about the next game,” Cummings said. “Big picture stuff like wanting to win the division and go far in Shore Conference and states is one thing, but we have to take it one game at a time and not let it get to our head.”